"Together we shared a bond not even death would violate."
This is a review from someone who's new into Cdramas, so my writings will solely be on the drama and nothing about any previous experience or comparison. It might divert a lil to a Kdrama taste bcs I am an avid fan but I shall try my best to stay on line."THE BOND (乔家的儿女)" is my 2nd Cdrama after "You Are My Glory", not that I got into Cdramas bcs of it, it was due to peer pressure, haha. So I decided to watch Cdramas once in 2 months since my plate is already full with plenty of pending Kdramas and movies. But I can't express my heartening feelings to announce that this drama has become one of the best things I have ever encountered; I must mention, it's now my most favourite 'slice of life' drama, next to Reply 1988.
Basically, "The Bond" is a story about 5 siblings and their growing relationship, not just of a particular span of time but over years; from their early childhood to their middle-aged selfs. There is no specific plot, rather portrayal of day-to-day happenings, thereby justifying the slice-of-life genre. What you prevalently get to experience throughout are: complex characters, individual growths, stupendous character developments and bewildering outgrowths in the relationships. What you get to witness along side? That's the simultaneous change happening to the rapidly developing China, it's effect on the society values, lifestyles, economy and culture; all these through the characters of the show. The timeline of the drama is 1977 to 2005 with multiple leaps.
I bet you've not seen such sibling relationship anywhere else, bcs it's never been made or represented like this. The portrayal of siblings' love & care and the urge to remain together as a family, even when you are constantly ageing, is very surreal in the drama. The extent of transparent reality and every check made to counterattack or even embrace it, felt so very actual, you might desire to acquire such a scenario in your grasp and paint your own life with it. Things happen in the ways, you least expect to and the consequences are also a combinations of various possibilities.
From my last line, I also want to mention how most of the characters here are extremely flawed and their transformation that felt out of sudden is another aspect of realism. Some of us might better ourselves gradually but some others also change in a short span of time. This drama provides you the scope to just experience the reality, instead of judging what's good & bad, or right & wrong, because this is how things and people are, in real. It's the situation that makes us decide our paths or choose our destiny but nevertheless, we are responsible for our own actions. It's obvious for us, as viewers, to get annoyed, frustrated, irritared and angry on some characters or sequences of events during the course of watching, but it's a proof how the drama have been able to accurately deliver the mood and the underlying messages.
The overal development throughout the 36 episode is very nice and each episode is full of substances that evokes all kinda emotions. My first impression from its 1st episode was not so great, I simply thought that the portrayals here might be emotional yet underwhelming. But to my surprise, I was hit with so many raw emotions elicited by almost all of the characters, I had no way to run away and I just held onto the drama very closely. I thought and expected the entire 36 episodes will be all about what the synopsis over here says but when the scenario changed outta nowhere, I was again in doubt but then I came to realize that this is a coming of age story.
Obviously, I had to fall for the most major character, Qiao Yi Cheng, the eldest brother. His character was the best I swear and I want to give emphasis on him in my review. You'll see almost no development in him but that's how he had been all along since childhood. His mother's sudden demise made him the person he didn't expect to become. The way he took care of his 3 younger siblings and managed the entire family for a long time, is totally commendable. Even after marriage and moving out, he was there to back his family as if his life depends on it. He had to raise kids from such a lil age that he couldn't cry or care for his own but his dedication really made me cry at times. Not normalising purely selfless care bcs he had to go through many obstacles too while dealing with things both within and outside of his family plus doing the best in his profession despite. He was the thread to which the entire family was connected and relied to hang onto in case of difficulties. Whenever something was up the other siblings as well as their father looked for him first and he never failed to be there with them. All these things accumulates so much emotions in your heart, you won't be able to help but cry at times. The only time I was angry with him was his decision to marry the girl........ Well.
2nd brother Er Qiang is my 2nd most favourite. Loved how he was always honest with himself and was courageous enough to fight the world for the ones he truly love and care for. He was slow-witted to take a gasp of the situation, yet clever enough to figure out what to do. First daughter, San Li was also the best female character in the drama who was well-behaved and always true to her decisions. 2nd daughter Simei, well hahahaha, she made me take paracetamol twice in row. Yes, I was that frustrated bcs of her behaviours. Not that she was bad but she didn't have the sense of right & wrong and always made choices that went wary for her ruining her life to extents. She was so stubborn that she barely learnt from her own mistakes. The youngest son, Qiqi was a fool but got a character development. I am a bit disappointed that he got very less screentime though he's one of the main characters. Qiao Zu Wang, the father of the family will be one of your least fav character for sure. He and his behaviours made me angry throughout nevertheless, he was a great source of light comedy in the drama.
Among the minor characters, Yiding (Sanli's husband) is my most favourite. They're the best couple in the show and their love for each other is truly heart touching. Qi Wei Min (Eldest cousin of Qiao's) is someone who cared for everyone a lot and secretly wished for everyone's well-being, in fact he favoured Simei and Qiqi the most. The aunt Wei Shu Fang was a good-hearted lady. Ma Su Qin (Erqiang's master) is one of the strongest characters. The Qiao's neighbor, Aunt Wu was one heck of a funny lady.
The final set of couples.... Well... I won't but as I have already mentioned, Sanli & Yiding shared the best relationship among all. What I can tell you is that this drama is not romance oriented even though there are a lot of couple. Of course there is love and growths in relationships but the romance is very subtle which is very apt. Things used to be like this back then in Asian countries and somehow still happens; I mean the period of dating is very less, they just meet and if there is mutual liking, they decide to marry each other in a short span of time. The divorce rates in old china was also high. You'll see these things clearly in this drama.
The dynamic of the characters and their shaping throughout the story has been very well drawn by the writer. The director seems to have a lot of experience that's been incorporated into the execution of the drama. The actors are very very good though I barely know them I loved. The seemingly simple characters might create an impression that the roles don't need much acting skills but my dear friend, even such simple characters with complex dynamics are not easy to play. Not just the final set of adult actors, but also the 2 different sets of child actors did a phenomenal job in playing their respective characters; the emotions they evoked through their expressions will legit make you cry. Also, the actor playing Qiao Zu wang, the father, is another character who did well in acting. His ways of talking throughout the drama via different stages of life, felt like a journey tho he's not a likable character.
What else I also loved is their realistic setups that actually showcased the life and lifestyle from mid to late 20th century that included exploding population, housing problems, poverty, healthcare as well education systems, technology, etc. Various relationships and the way they developed and their way of survival couldn't be more real. I was actually mad with how quick they were deciding to get married but that's how it happened back then and those were also the issues in married life back then.
I always think that being realistic and being real are 2 different thing and The Bond has proved that for me. It was not a drama with a steady plot accompanied by realistic screenplay, rather a drama which was very real that it almost feels like your own life, no matter your circumstances. They kept things simple and natural so that the audience could read and interprete the scenarios, even for the subtle and subverted expressions.
The OSTs are all my favourite. Even while writing this review I am listening to them TT. Ever since starting the drama, I turn the album on as soon as I wake up and they're often on loop. There are total 4 songs among which one has 2 versions with 2 different singers. I loved the way these OSTs are utilised at apt times as required to showcase various emotions.
# Life Should Always Be Bright (生活總該迎著光亮)" by Zhou Shen is soft heart touching song that explains the price of bonds between people and how it essentially helps us grow as persons.
# "Flash (燈筒: Deng Tong)" by Jin Zhiwen is one's urge to escape from all the sufferings. It's very soulful and melancholic.
# "Wild Bird (野鸟) composed by Wang Zihe is an energizing and motivating song and has 2 versions sung by 2 different singers: one by Wang Zihe herself and another by Jin Runji; in different ways actually.
# Space (留白) by Juno Su is like understanding the essence of life, love and living through a softcore melodious track and the vocals are just wowww.
Apart from the havoc caused by Simei what disappointed me is how they rushed the ending a bit. There's no plot or whatsoever they were trying to wrap up but since it's a slice of life drama, one or two more episodes wouldn't have harmed, rather made us happy. It felt like extra scenes were cut off from the last 2 episodes in order to make it a 36 episode drama but anyways It's just me who desperately wished for more. Notably, the last 6 episodes (31-36) becomes heavy and emotional from all terms and there are several peak moments in there which made me cry.
'The Bond' that was created since birth, strived to be stronger on their mother's demise, and was further nourished over years of love, care and affection upon the foundation established by the big brother and to finally find happiness at the end of the life. The Bond is indeed a story about the Qiao family that managed to survive the odds of their life, stayed as one and even thrived till the end, everything together.
Overally, this drama is for everyone and definitely a must watch slice of life. And I'm sure you'll remember this for a long lomg time. Again at the end, I just wanna express my utter happiness for deciding to watch the drama, that too at a perfect time and I am grateful to everyone who have made this possible. Thank you so much!
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Well I'm just glad to be watching a show in which REDACTED doesn't die by the end!
I really loved watching this show. In fact, I couldn't stop watching it! It's possibly (probably) one of the best shows of the year. With a raw storyline, amazingly complex characters, and competent production, this show is a good option for a mature and gut-wrenching experience.Throughout the watching experience of this show, I noticed a lot of viewers were upset by characters not being easily categorized as good or bad, or judging characters too harshly, or just being upset that the romances were not cute. So just upfront, let me tell you. This is not your next Love is Sweet or Begin Again, or even Go Ahead (though that show is pretty close, content-wise). This show is raw. It's like an open wound. It goes for realism and it exposes the characters' faults on purpose. Actions have consequences in this show and everyone is a bit more complicated than meets the eye. I could write pages on character studies alone but this is a show review, so I'll stop!
You should watch this show if you like:
1. Mature stories. No black and white morality to be found here or cutesy characters whose bad decisions only lead to quirky shenanigans. Nope. You make a bad mistake here, you go DOWN!
2. Good acting
3. Later 20th-century history
4. Family dramas
5. Generational stories
Summary: The show follows the Qiao children as they struggle to survive in their father's home after their mother dies in childbirth. Yi Cheng, the eldest, makes a silent vow to never lose his dignity no matter what he faces in life. He struggles to raise his neglected siblings, keep them fed and in school while also following his own ambitions of raising himself out of his bad situation through education, all while maintaining his pride. As the story progresses and their lives get complicated by mistakes and tragedies, the siblings stay close together like the threads of a knitted sweater!
Plot: The plot is simple. It's life. It starts in 1977 and ends in 2005 and the show is committed to historical accuracy but other than that it shows the characters, their love life, their triumphs and failures with little judgment. You will hate some decisions and you'll love others. It's chaotic and illogical, the way that real life is. In real life, sometimes people make bad decisions and they commit to them longer than it makes sense to do so. It's the same in this show. I personally found everything in the story tolerable and nothing made me so angry as to make me want to stop watching. Everything flowed naturally. Nothing was dragged out and nothing was wrapped too fast. The pace was great and it helped to keep the viewer interested. Each episode is packed with one event after another to the point that missing one episode might lead to missing entire arcs!
Acting: Perfect. All across the board, everyone was amazing. Special shout out to Liu Jun who played their father. His character was a jerk but he played him so well that I was just so impressed by this veteran actor. Also, the young actors playing the Qiao kids in their childhood, especially the young actor for YiCheng, were amazing. Guo Zi Ming made me tear up more than any other character in the show. Kudos!
Music: I actually loved the music for this show. Especially the song called Wild Bird which I have been listening to on repeat since I watched the first episode. I can sing along now!
Production: It was near perfect. Gorgeous cinematography, meticulous location setting, attention to details, historically accurate objects but also experiences, symbolic lighting (happy homes colored with warm colors and unhappy ones with cold ones), (almost) perfect continuity. Most importantly, I think the production wasn't as expensive as it seemed and that it was just very well-budgeted.
Rewatch: I wouldn't say no. It was a very endearing watch and I particularly enjoyed certain parts that I would love to watch again.
Negatives: Characters make bad decisions a lot but I thought they made sense in context. While bad decisions, they still made sense for the characters. It's a bit hard to keep track of the passage of time. It's probably easier for Chinese people to figure them out because the show touches on important historical events but even so, there were certain points where time moved in loops (as it so often does in cdramas!) and it was a bit confusing but it didn't harm the show. It was just surprising to learn how much time had passed, once we did get a date. Some scenes were censored and there is some propaganda in the show. The censored parts do not redact from the quality but they do raise questions of "what if"s. The propaganda is light and harmless for the most part. One or two subplots lead nowhere in particular but given how packed the show is, it's fine. Qiqi gets WAY less screen time than everyone else. Not sure if it was a good thing or not because what we got from him was so sad and upsetting that I wish we hadn't had that either!
Overall: Highly recommended. I don't usually enjoy modern cdramas. This show stands out with its near-perfect everything.
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This review may contain spoilers
A perfect encounter with the imperfect Qiao children
Maybe the line above is the most suitable line to sum up what I’ve been through after 36 episodes of The Bond. This drama is not perfect. The characters are not perfect either. They are bloody annoying and manage to make my blood boil in every single episode.
But, I still finished this drama. I’m still able to find my strength to see how the ending is for the Qiao family, especially those unfortunate children. In those 36 episodes, I can’t help but think, how can people get through all of those events but still survive and always have each other back.
After the final episode, I give myself some time to think about it, and the answer is laid on the English title of this drama, The Bond.
The Bond that they have created since the day their mother died. The Bond which was glued by their eldest brother who carried them for decades. The Bond that makes them stronger to pursue their happy ending, tho life always throws them in the miserable place again and again.
Synopsis
The story began in 1977. In that year, the fifth and the last child of the Qiao family was born. But unfortunately, the mom passed away right after giving birth to Qiao Qiqi. She left her five children with their irresponsible and not capable dad, Qiao Zuwang. This dad loved to gamble and didn’t even care about his home or his children at all.
This left no choice for the eldest brother in this family, Qiao Yicheng who was only 12 years old at that time to step up and be the caretaker of the family. He suddenly became the mother and the father of them.
This kept going on until they were teenagers and adults. This eldest brother is always the one who cares and protects them. Even when they started to have their own romantic life, their bond was still as strong as ever.
Review
To be honest, I don’t know how to give this drama an objective review, because I’m so damn attached with it. I have followed this drama since it was airing on August 17th until September 8th. The Bond was airing 2 episodes everyday in Tencent Video, that’s why it ended pretty fast. And I’m very content with this kind of schedule, though it made me couldn’t watch the other dramas because my mind was full of these children.
This drama actually has shortcomings, especially towards the ending. It seems so rushed. If it really followed the original material (the novel), this drama should have more than 36 episodes. Some parts of the novel were changed to fit the TV drama schedule. So, it left me a little bit unsatisfied. I really want one or two extra episodes just to see them being happy, especially the eldest brother, Qiao Yicheng.
It doesn’t have to be exactly like the novel, but I do wish the part when the eldest brother was sick wasn’t changed that much or at least a little bit longer. If you watched this drama and saw with your own eyes what Qiao Yicheng has done to his family, you would also want this man to be pampered for a little bit longer. Especially when you have Bai Yu (Guardian, Suddenly This Summer, The Long Night) who pulled off the sick character so well.
I saw so many complains about the drama, which they think too miserable, too annoying, too *狗血 (gǒuxiě), etc. But when I read those comments, I realized they never really criticized the plot. What they actually criticized was the choice of the characters.
“Why the hell was he married to that woman?” “Why is he so stupid?” “This man is good for nothing.” “This woman is too blinded by love.” and so many other things.
I said those things too, but it didn’t make me leave the drama. Instead, this drama turned me into a noisy aunty who lived as their neighbor. I talked about them with the other aunties and was always curious what would happen with their life after they made a certain decision.
This drama would never work so well for me if it wasn’t because of the ensemble cast. We have Bai Yu as Qiao Yi Cheng, Zhang Wan Yi as Qiao Er Qiang, Mao Xiao Tong as Qiao San Li, Song Zu Er as Qiao Si Mei and Zhou Yi Ran as Qiao Qi Qi.
I will emphasize my compliment to Bai Yu. I don’t want to sound biased (since he’s indeed my favorite Chinese actor), but he’s indeed really that good. He can show the development of Qiao Yicheng in the span of 20 years in the drama. He can transform himself from the temperamental, awkward, naggy and full of energy young Qiao Yicheng to still naggy but relatively calm, insecure and tired older Qiao Yicheng. He can show the complicated emotions of Qiao Yicheng perfectly. When you watch this drama, you will see how wide the emotional range of Qiao Yicheng is. He is a completely different person depending on his opponent. His line delivery is so natural as if he isn’t acting. It makes the drama feel even more real.
What I like about this drama (it may be a minor reason and not necessarily important but I love it) is this drama never dubbed the inner thought with voice over nor did monologues. We can easily understand what they were thinking only by looking at their expressions. For me, it’s such praise worthy of the actors. It means, they succeed in giving us a narrative without too much dialogue. That’s what real actors should do.
Beside the main leads, we still have tons of supporting actors who also did extremely well to bring the story to life, such as Liu Jun as Qiao Zu Wang, Li Jia Hang as Qi Wei Min, and Zhao Fan as Ye Xiao Lang. All the child actors are also impressive.
So, in the acting department, I’m quite satisfied. There are some actors who didn’t meet my expectations but overall they are still watchable and didn’t ruin the flow.
Original soundtracks of The Bond are one of the best. The opening song, “Life Should Always Face the Light”, is sung by Zhou Sen and it is sooooo beautiful. The title is full of hope and the lyrics get me teared up every time I listen to it. I almost never skip the opening just to listen to this song.
The most important thing from these brilliant soundtracks is how well placed they are. The timing when the songs are played is never missed. It hits right in your heart at the perfect moment to add more emotion in this drama.
Last, I love the details for the setting and properties. Though I’m not Chinese and obviously I didn’t live there in that era, I feel very familiar with all the properties there. Especially when they enter the millennial year when the handphone was found. I’m like, “I recognize the ringtone!” “Ah, that was my first phone!”. Something like that.
The tone and color grading that they use from time to time is also distinctive. It looks like it’s the same, but it’s actually not. It follows the year the drama took place. It’s such a pleasing for my eyes.
In the end, I can say again, this drama is no where near perfect. But this drama teaches me so many thing about life and how we should handle it. That’s why, I can’t help but put this drama in a very high place in my heart.
This review is also posted at https://lalasalittleworld.wordpress.com/2021/09/10/review-the-bond-qiao-jia-de-er-nu/
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This review may contain spoilers
MUST WATCH FAMILY DRAMA OF THE YEAR!
The is an incredible family drama of 2021, I highly highly recommend it if you need a break from romantic, comedy dramas. Get some tissues and popcorn and enjoy the ride through the different eras while watching the kids grow up.STORY 10/10 -
The Bond opening begins in the 1960s and ends around the mid 2000s.It follows 5 Qiao siblings, specially the 4 eldest siblings because they grew up together. Their father is selfish, he barely helped in raising the kids, therefore the eldest took the responsibility to raise his siblings well.
THE ACTING : 10/10 even the child actors did a PHENOMENAL job.
Qiao Yi Cheng played by Bai Yu - as aforementioned, he took the responsibility to be the father figure of his siblings as their own father is a selfish prick. He's very strict, but caring and loving towards his siblings. He would do anything for his siblings even they did something terrible. His back must be heavy from carrying so much weight of his siblings, it breaks my heart. >< He doesn't like asking for help, and seeing that pain especially in the child actor's face - really breaks you. Even as Bai Yu plays, he did an amazing job as well. As for his personality, he seems like an awkward person when he's outside of his family. I don't think its weird, because everyone has different sides they show to their family and strangers. His character was heartbreaking to watch because of how much pressure he puts on himself, he didn't change much into adulthood because of this. In a way, he's selfless but also selfish for not accepting the reality of the need to be helped. I think it took a while for him to finally accept it and change.
Qiao Er Qiang (Zhang Wan Yi)- As a child, he was a troublemaker for his brother. He didn't like studying, he kept skipping classes, he tried to help his brother - made more troubles instead. haha But you can see as a child, he cares for his siblings a lot, despite not showing as much as Yi Cheng. He has a scandalous love story but he's stubborn and fought for his love. The actor, Zhang Wan Yi, portrayed Er Qiang as a gentle brother, innocent- puppy eyes, and soft spoken brother. However, he's like a middle child who doesn't like getting into arguments or gossips andjust does his own thing in the background. He's always there for his sibling as especially the youngest sister - they have a nice bond - you can already tell they have that strong bond especially when they were kids.
Qiao San Li (Mao Xiao Tong) - San li is somewhat a splitting personality of Yi Cheng, the eldest. She's responsible, she's caring, well spoken and knows what she wants. As a child, something happened and it gave her PTSD. Eventually, as an adult you can see her break out of it and become the strong woman she is. Her love story was very touching, although rocky moments but otherwise I really like how she fought for herself and for her partner. I didn't realize Mao Xiao Tong was the actress until later, she did a great job, too. Nothing but good compliments for her. haha
QIao Si Mei (Song Zu Er) - QIAO SI MEI! Gave me the most headache like she did for Yi Cheng, hahahaa Her personality is very extroverted, she's talkative, and doesn't know when to stop. She's basically the comedic character in this drama, I love her but there are times when she does gives me headaches. She's a troublemaker like her second oldest brother. haha Her love story was ...lets just say odd. Lightning fast as well, and a ton of heart breaks. Prepare tissues but also prepare some heart medicine cause damn her relationship got me extremely frustrated. At the same time, if you put yourself in her shoes, you would know that there are people who are like this.. and its definitely difficult to break free.>< Because Si mei has such a strong personality, she's quite stubborn in doing what she wants. Eventually she grew to be responsible, her character development was interesting to watch.
Qiao Qi Qi (Zhou Yi Ran) - The youngest of the family, there's not much an impression from him because he didn't really grow up with the others. However, he does have a impact in certain ways. He's pretty shy, introverted, doesn't speak much. However, despite his lack of experience in the real world and knowledge, he was able to become responsible and I really liked how his character developed through the decades.
Qiao Zu Wang the father (Liu Jun) - THE MOST SELFISH, ANGER INDUCING FATHER IN THE ENTIRE DRAMA UNIVERSE! He was selfish in the 60s and well into the mid 2000s. But I have to say the actor, Liu Jun, did an amazing job in getting the audience frustrated and hating him throughout the drama. hahaha There were definitely moments where he tried to bea good father but failed. Only towards the end di he really think of them selflessly. Sometimes he speaks logically other times, its just his old traditional - stubbornness talking.
There were many time skips in this drama, you'll see the kids as babies and the next, they would be kids
Don't expect the romance to be all fluff like romance dramas. For each sibling, their love story has some rough patches. Basically, in terms of romance in this drama, I find it more realistic than any other romance drama. I know a lot of people may deter away from the siblings' partners but please keep in mind, romance isn't the main focus of the drama. However, the drama did very well in portraying what a relationship would go through: Divorces, cheating, stupid fights, arguments, pain, terrible partners, lies, or miscommunication, etc.
While watching this drama, you really need to understand from the character's pov and why they're acting the way they are. Remember that there are definitely people in this world who are like these characters. The supporting actors and actresses did a wonderful job as well especially Jeremy Qin who played Wang Yi Ding he's my favorite supporting character, haha
The Bond is a 10/10 for me, I enjoyed every bit of it. Highly recommend, would definitely re-watch again.
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Blood is thicker than water!
Initially, when this drama was aired, I was just thinking that this would be just a regular story about a family and its members – as simple as that.When I started following this drama – yes, it is about a family more on the relationship between the siblings from the childhood moment up till their adulthood. One major difference with other family story was that on how this drama described the BOND (as per the title) of the siblings of Qiao family: Yi Cheng the oldest brother, Er Qiang the second brother, San Li the third daughter, Si Mei the forth daughter and Qiqi, the youngest brother.
To me the story looks very real – it started I believe before the China One Child policy, meaning started before 1980. Because the Qiao family already had 4 children and once the fifth children was born the story started.
The story also described on how chronic poverty hits the family, headed by a drunkard love to gamble father who worked as a rough labor with minimum wage, but he had 4 children and another one was coming. The problem became more severe once the fifth child was born and at the same time took away the live of the mother. The 4 siblings had to live a very hard life and the fifth child became the responsibilities of the siblings.
The rough situation shaped their personalities, especially the oldest son, Yi Cheng – as the oldest son – has to bore the responsibility of his younger brother and sisters. He was forced to take the responsibility because the father neglects them all. The father didn’t care about the wellbeing of his children, so the children needed to survive on their own.
Yi Cheng became overly protective to his siblings, not because he wanted to but because the condition forced him to take the responsibility. This also made everybody become overly dependent to the older brother.
The story was very touching – please prepare a box of Kleenex to wipe your tears. Once they grew up, everyone has their own stories, their own problems and they were told nicely in this drama.
Everyone was influenced by their childhood, their personalities were shaped from childhood, teenage till adulthood and each and everyone have different and interesting personalities. Everyone has their love interest, their own personal relationship and love story.
These elements made the story very interesting. And all elements of the story look very real and natural, as if you were taken to see the journey of each individual of the Qiao family. You will taken to emotion roller coaster ride. The story of regular people.
I admire Qiao Si Mei character, she is very lively, carefree, poetic, courageous. At the age of less than 10 years old, she travels back alone from other province to her home in Nanjing where she needs to take a train. She went to Beijing alone to watch her idol concert. She travelled to Tibet border to meet her boyfriend who is stationed in border military post. She is really remarkable, pursuing her happiness.
The acting of each main lead also superb. No exaggeration – just like watching what happened in your own family with every problem that you have to face.
The properties for this drama is also well prepared to tell the story from the 80’s to 2005. You can also see how technology developed from this drama. The Tube Colour TV, the Walkman, the Pager, ole mobile phones, old computers, big video camera and recording device, roller skate then transform to skating ring. All details and progress as years go by are really good.
So if you like a real life drama, you should watch this.
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Excellent Slice-of-Life Drama but very painful to watch
Completed - 11/24/2021Objective rating: 9.0
Subjective rating: 8.75
It is very difficult to review and rate "The Bond". Objectively speaking, this is an excellent drama. The acting is top notch - from the youngest actors to the most veteran actors. I have nothing to pick on. And because of the excellent acting of everyone, I come to hate so many of the supporting characters. I don't think I've ever hated characters from a drama this much, most notably Father Qiao. This piece of Sxxx of a father is the worst I've seen. The novel writer and the screenwriter are the same person, and I wonder if he has such a hard life that he would write something that gives me so much pain.
The drama revolves around the life of the Qiao family. The Qiao siblings grew up without a mother and their father emotionally and physically abused/neglected them. Big Brother Qiao YiCheng had to grow up fast to take care of his younger siblings. Throughout the drama, you see the hardships that each sibling has gone through from their childhood to their adult life. But the BOND between them is unbreakable. No matter how much they argue and fight with each other, they immediately drop everything to come to their sibling's rescue. And because they all suffer so much that I wish the best for each of them.
I thought of writing a little bit about each sibling's journey, but then my review will be super long and possibly very boring. Let's just say each has a very distinct personality and has amazing character growth in this drama. All of their marriages go through ups and downs. This is no fairytale, as happily-ever-after does not come easy to the Qiao family. When watching this drama, I have to pause and only watch a couple episodes a day. I cry and suffer with them, and it became intolerable to binge watch. I endured all this suffering because I pray that it has a happy ending. I wish there are more light and comedic moments in this drama, to balance out the tough moments.
Other Notes:
1. I am glad to watch another Bai Yu (Brother #1) drama after The Guardian. His acting is no joke. He's excellent in this drama.
2. This is my first drama of Zhang Wan Yi (Brother #2). I became a fan and look forward to seeing more of his dramas in the future. He's quite handsome :)
3. So glad to see Rachel Momo (Sister #3) in this very likable role. I really disliked her in "Princess Wei Young". But then, it also speaks to her great acting ability.
4. Song Zu Er (Sister #4) grew on me. I didn't like her and her character that much in the beginning, but she has the best character development in the drama. I look forward to her upcoming dramas.
5. I am so glad that the actors are using their own voices and it also sounded like live recording.
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This review may contain spoilers
An Emotional Family Bond
This drama was the best meaningful drama I have watched in so long. The plot development, timeline, characters, music choice, etc., exceeded my imagination. Whoever wrote this story deserves a pat on the back.Without further ado, I will point out the things I loved most about this story. Let's talk character development of each of the siblings. Yi Cheng had to grow early, so he matured fast to shelter his siblings and protect their backs. What really marked me is how he wanted a kid with Ye TOEFL, as Si Mei likes to call her, from not wanting to have a kid because he came to realize that he's been a father ever since he was a kid. But really, we can notice how worn out he was towards the end because the guy was always rushing to his family's aid. Moving on to Er Qian, he was clueless all along, but seeing him finally find his passion for culinary and following it as an income source made me feel happy for him. What people don't notice about Er Qian is that he never had it his way. He lost his mom, he then lost the pet animals that gave him comfort, and lastly, he lost his Master. Deep down, he was hurt, but he never showed it nor complained, yet eventually, things worked out for him, and he started smiling and living life the way he always wanted alongside his Master. As for Sanli, boy, oh boy, the girl went from being insecure because of the man who attempted to rape her to accepting a partner and a spouse in Yi Ding. If that isn't an evolvement, I don't know what is. Before moving on to Qi Qi, can we talk about how Si Mei came to realize that finding a partner isn't all about looks as she used to preach, and also about how she decided to let go of her cheating husband that she was holding onto so severely? I guess, amongst all the siblings, she is the one who changed the most. She went on a quest to find herself, picked up photography as a hobby, and followed what made her heart palpitate. Lastly, our boy Qi Qi didn't have it easy either. The guy grew up separately from his family, got tricked by his high school classmate and was left with a kid, started running his own business, which is something he worked hard for, and had to give his kidney away. Man, quite this was quite the plot.
I won't talk about their father, though, because the dude was a constant. When everyone was changing, he never did, but I guess he finally started to wake up from sleep during his last days.
Besides the character development of our main cast, can we talk about how smart it was to name the kids following a numbering system? Yi as in one, Er as in two, San as in three, Si as in four, and Qi as in 7, and that's many because he was born in 1977. That was cute. It gives you perspective about who was born first and who followed.
All in all, this was a beautiful drama. It was emotional, heartwarming, and cozy. I highly recommend it to anyone, really.
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Learn with and from the Qiaos
Cry, Ache, Smile and Laugh with the Qiaos through their tragic childhood, struggling adolescence, mistakes, ill fated relationships. But they weather through it all, being always present for each other.Your blood pressure may shoot up because of Qiao senior- the irresponsible and mostly selfish father. You may find fault in the many short sighted decisions and choices the Qiao siblings make. But after finishing 36episodes you will only come to envy them. The siblings embody the term 'blood is thicker than water'. Of what true family is. On the outside it seems so dysfunctional, the 5 children akeen to orphan after their mother's passing. But eldest Yi Chen step in filling the role of father and mother. Even as they bicker, disagree, argue or fight, they love each other.
My favorite sibling is San Li. There's something about her quiet, shy, reserved character that makes me ache for her when shes hurt but doesnt voice it out. A near tragedy nearly ruined her and make her fearful of men. But thank God, He gave her an honest, simple man in the form of Yi Ding. I find quite alot of the men here are simple, sometimes a bit slow but adorably innocent. Er Qiang, the second bro as well as Qi Qi the youngest are the same. The same character that others can easily take advantage of. Then theres Si Mei who have her head in the clouds and is unrealistic in her approach to love and life. But you will find she is very similar to her eldest bro who she is arguably closest with. Stubborn as a mule.
The acting is spot on. Bai Yu and Rachel Mao doesnt disappoint. Lareina Song suprise me with her performance. Truly couldnt fault anyone. Stellar cast.
The drama is aptly named. That 'bond' that wouldnt and couldnt be broken. Every meal time scene where they sit together..Im reminded to cherish family times. How they rally around each other when something bad happens, including childbirth, injury, and even under quarantine together durng SARS outbreak. It makes you feel it will be alright even if the sky falls down because they all have each other's back.
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An Unforgettable Life Journey
I cannot describe the overwhelming amount of emotions I'm experiencing right now. The Bond was such an emotional drama, and it was an experience I'd never had with any other family drama - ever. To say that this drama is unforgettable is actually an understatement. I had high expectations walking into this drama, yet it still managed to exceed them. I have so many things I want to say, and I want my review to do justice to the drama. However, I'm not very good at expressing how I feel. Still, I will attempt to be as coherent as possible. Here I go...The Bond chronicles the life of the Qiao siblings during a period of China's rapid modernization. After their mother's death, the Qiao siblings are forced to fend for themselves at a young age, while their father neglects them. The eldest, Qiao Yi Cheng, takes on the role of a caretaker and raises his younger siblings. Thus, an eternal bond is formed as we see them go through thick and thin when facing the reality of the world. We follow them through their entire life, from childhood to adulthood. We witness them confront their challenges at such a young age that it's natural for viewers to become attached to them and root for their success. By the end of the drama, you will feel like you're a part of the Qiao family as well.
The story is absolutely immaculate. Never was there a point in which I felt bored. Everything kept me glued to the drama. It depicts many harsh realities of life and is just a highly accurate representation of life in general. The drama elicits a wide range of emotions. It makes you feel as though you have lived through decades of life as the characters have. All of the problems that arise contribute to the story and characters' growth. Some characters come and go. Whether it is a brief or long-lasting encounter, they all have an incredible impact on our main characters.
This drama is, without a doubt, a character-driven one. Each one of our main characters has its shortcomings. But in the end, they are all genuinely great people. They make bad decisions at times, but I never hated them at any point; all I wanted was the best for every one of them. These bad decisions also allowed the characters to learn from their mistakes. All of the characters are very distinct. It's fascinating to observe the different ways each one of them approaches their problems.
Qiao Yi Cheng is already shouldering a great deal of responsibility in raising his siblings at such a young age. I relate to him to a certain extent since I am the eldest child. Due to unforeseen circumstances, I was saddled with foreign responsibilities at a young age. Of course, it's nowhere near Qiao Yi Cheng's predicament. I genuinely admire and respect him. Bai Yu's depiction of Qiao Yi Cheng is memorable, and I can't imagine any other actor playing this role. He's natural as the eldest child who is sick of solving his family's problems (haha). Overall, his portrayal of Yi Cheng is on point.
Another character I want to shine a light on is Qiao Si Mei. She piqued my interest because of Song Zu Er's absolutely fantastic portrayal. Growing up, Qiao Si Mei is the one in the family that is influenced by the growing entertainment media during that time. She loves fangirling over celebrities, and she especially loves living in a fantasy. Since little, she's always fantasized about the perfect love story. Many events throughout her life are evidence of how naive she is when it comes to love. This is influenced by the romance novels she's read. Although she is always scolded by Yi Cheng for her foolishness, she remains persistent in her views of love. Honestly, her character provided immense comedic relief for the majority of the drama. She's such a fun character. Combined with Song Zu Er's charming portrayal, this makes Qiao Si Mei one of my favorite characters. Although she is a very flawed character, I still love her. It was very interesting and sometimes frustrating to witness our naive Qiao Si Mei go on a journey discovering the realities of love. The conclusion to her arc is fitting and satisfying.
There are plenty more characters who I would like to commend. Qiao Er Qiang, the second brother, is also a fantastic character. Yes, I want the best for everyone, but if I had to choose only one, it would be Er Qiang. Then there's the incredible Qiao San Li. She and her spouse, Wang Yi Ding, are both amazing individuals. Finally, we have the family's youngest child, Qiao Qi Qi. He does not get nearly as much screen time as the other main characters. You can't help but adore him based on what we've seen of him. I love his bond with Qi Wei Min, his cousin who is essentially his brother. In terms of acting, I can confidently state that the whole cast delivered.
The music in the drama is also superb. It has a nostalgic sense about it that never fails to make you both smile and cry. I'm actually listening to the OSTs right now as I am writing this review. I can't stop. It's simply that amazing. I was overjoyed to see that the OSTs are available on Spotify. I've been listening to the OSTS on repeat, and you may find yourself listening to it on repeat as well.
I don't usually say this, but The Bond is undoubtedly a MUST-WATCH for those who enjoy life and family dramas. It's a top-tier life drama that includes realistic, complex, and engaging characters that make you love them to death despite their flaws. Even if you're not into this kind of genre, I still highly suggest that you check this one out for yourself. Seriously, you will be doing yourself a huge favor. Thank me later.
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SOLID 10 **********!!
I don't rank a lot of shows a 10 because there is almost always room for improvement.The Bond, however, is one of those rarities. The acting/storytelling/visuals/soundtrack all solid 10s. All of the actors were awesome in their roles (the 5 children as youngsters to teenagers to their adult selves, were awesome) each character did a fantastic job portraying their characters, whether they were protagonists or antagonists. Excellent casting by the casting folks!
Family is the story here. Relationships between the five Qiao siblings over a 30-year span of time...romantic relationships, work relationships, friendships are all there too, but it's the sibling bond that is the centerpiece of this lovely show. The story isn't always lovely, it's messy, frustrating, irritating, crazy, heartbreaking, silly...all of the things/emotions that define family dynamics.
This is a slow-burn type of show. Things happen slowly, as things often do. Some things don't get resolved with a storybook ending, just like in real life.
It will take me a long time to get over The Bond. I absolutely loved everything about it.
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Neglected by their father, these five siblings go through a lot and you can't help but root for them. There's the stubborn but devoted eldest brother Yi Cheng, who you simultaneously admire and want to shake—basically his cousin is 100% right about him every time they argue. The second brother Er Qiang is so simple and sweet, ambling through life trying to get things right. Third sister San Li is good-natured but will firmly stand up for herself. (I haven't been a fan of Mao Xiaotong in the past but I really loved her as San Li.) And ah, the youngest sister Si Mei. I loved her lively spirit and that she follows her heart... but sometimes she definitely needed some rationality. The quiet fifth brother Qi Qi has the least screentime but I especially liked his moments towards the end. And although their father is terrible, there are plenty of other contenders for worst human being! Ha.
The rate of marriage and divorce was quite high but this isn't a romance-centered drama. It's really about the bond between the siblings and how they're always there for each other. I only wish that there had been more heartwarming, quiet moments in between all the crises! It felt like Yi Cheng couldn't catch a break because there was always someone in the family who needed his help. I also would've loved to see more development of the relationship between certain pairs. This drama was (only) 36 episodes and I wouldn't have minded if it were longer!
The standout supporting character is Yi Cheng's colleague and friend Song Qing Yuan, who brings some levity to all his scenes. He's not only a loyal friend, he's direct and honest with Yi Cheng, not holding back on what needs to be said. This is the third supporting role I've seen Chang Long in and I hope he gets a bigger role in the future. Overall, every cast member in The Bond is great though.
Lastly, the theme song by Zhou Shen is so beautiful and perfect for this drama.
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Storytelling at its best with supreme acting!
The reviews got it right. For 36 episodes (which should have been more, so the ending didn't have to be so rushed) we shared the lives of 5 children who held on to the only thing in their lives that were true - each other (most especially their eldest brother). Taking into consideration the era, the culture, the changing times, new inventions - this production was so well done!The performance of the actors was magnificent, each and every one of them. However, the three actors who truly outdid themselves were Bai Yu, Liu Jun, and Song Zu Er. Bai Yu was definitely the star of this production - but when an actor can make you despise them in the role they play or evoke so much emotion you feel like you know the character, that is great acting. With that in mind, I have to give the biggest credit of all to the child actors who portrayed the four main siblings as children. Their performances were stellar, and they each have great promise. It was them who drew me into the story to begin with, hungry to see how they grew up, how they managed, and who their characters became.
The OST was beautiful. As expected, Zhou Shen's opening song was haunting and beautiful. All the musical score was excellently placed and so appropriate.
There are enough reviews with recaps and analyses. I just cannot emphasize enough what a great production this was. The writing, directing, ACTING, music, cinematography, everything. This series rates so much more than a mere 10!
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